Doubt the Power of Twitter?

Just scroll down and read up. See, in real-time (this is only a few minutes ago), what Twitter and a caring network can do…

The accident happened in central Connecticut – comfort and coordination began arriving in moments from Oman, Canada, and the United States.

Thanks, everyone, for pitching in (literally, from around the world!) to help Leigh – esp. Dr Jonathan, who took the lead coordinating local rescue and giving Leigh advice. It doesn’t get any more wonderful than this.

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About Steve WoodruffSteve Woodruff is a blogger, a Connection Agent, and a consultant in the pharma/healthcare industry. He specializes in helping people and companies make mutually beneficial connections.

Why didn’t the rider have anyone else to text or otherwise get in contact with? And I don’t understand why text would work but not phone service? Maybe I don’t understand my phone that well still, haha.

But I agree with Kirsten – if the string of tweets actually did occur it’s just another reason why I like Twitter and am glad I’m involved. #hcsm and all other reasons for using Twitter are really fascinating and will change how we all think about each other.

I just reread my comment and read more of the twitter comments about the rider. Cool stuff. Glad you people are out there. It’s wonderful to think that there are so many of us who care enough to stay involved, especially when we don’t know someone and could easily just think it’s a hoax.

Hi Paul – thanks for stopping by. Part of the beauty of this was, some of us already “knew” Leigh via long-standing Twitter association – so we knew this was no hoax. There are definitely times when skepticism is warranted – but not when a friend is in trouble!

Phil – absolutely correct. There’s no way you can replace the credibility that comes with a long-standing relationship. It didn’t even cross my mind that this was anything but a for-real emergency (of course, any remaining skeptics can go to Leigh’s steam and see the actual pictures she posted after this blog post was written…!)

I can assure you, this was no hoax. I was just messing on Twitter, saw her tweets and responded immediately, which lead Jonathan to see it too. People in my house were very skeptical, but no way I was going to ignore it.

And it’s stories and relationships like these that are exactly why I’ll continue to use and enjoy Twitter et al. Every day I make new friends, follow new and interesting people and learn something. Thanks.

Thank you all for being concerned. Steve, thanks again for putting out this post and sharing and more importantly help me.

As you all could see, it was no joke. And back to Phil Bauman’s point – these “relationships” we have on Twitter go a long way. Its what helped me.

* Julie Coffee I had never met or spoke to, yet she was connected to me and reacted immediately.

* Jonathan Vitale is someone who I met a while back on Twitter who is now a true friend. We’ve spoken a few times, and chat daily digitally.

* And Steve is another twitter friend.

* Debra Caplick who helped knows me well over the years from the healthcare PR industry…

* Arun from Oman has no idea who I am but his friend @silver_medalist was following me.

AMAZING!

Im home. Im okay. But Im really sore from head to toe. When I breathe it hurts. I am really lucky. really lucky I didn’t break anything or get stuck in those woods. If I was stuck there, I would have panicked really bad which could have led to worse things.

Lastly, I thank the entire rescue team (which I have now learned was pretty large) who all provided rescue assistance: the Farmington Fire and Police Dept, the volunteers in the ambulance squad and medics, and a mountain bike rider named Jason P. I appreciated all the efforts of everyone.

I want to emphasize to everyone how happy all of Leigh’s followers on Twitter and I are about her successful rescue and current recovery. I was on Twitter as the entire scenario unfolded. I was part of the first group to contact authorities. I can say that any of Leigh’s followers on Twitter would have done the same, I was just one of the people who happened to be on Twitter when Leigh first asked for help. Although Leigh has become a friend of mine, people with whom she had never even communicated online were also closely involved in her rescue.

It’s important to point out that Leigh had no way to know the extent of her injuries when she initially had the accident, especially since she was having difficulty moving. She realized this and correctly assume the worst. She did not know whether or not she was going to be able to maintain consciousness for much longer. Therefor, she appropriately assumed that time was critical. If she had, for instance, sent a text message to a friend or family member, there is no guarantee that individual would have received the message in the immediate future. Leigh knew that if she sent a message on Twitter, one of her 1,000+ followers was bound to read it immediately. What speaks further to the power of Twitter is that she believed in the relationships she has formed without actually meeting many of these people in person. At that moment, she was trusting these relationships with her life: relationships formed through Twitter.